Honestylog.com

San Francisco

Bea & I are up for the weekend, along with my mom & dad. We have a membership with Worldmark, which we have never regretted buying for a minute. In fact, we've gone back two more times to buy extra credits. Highly recommended. But it spoils you. It's very difficult to stay in a standard hotel room, any more.

That was taken from across the street, just outside of the Tunnel Top bar (Stockton Tunnel, just off Union Square). It's a fun bar, and, they stock McCallen.

We'll head over in a bit for breakfast atop the Hyatt, then maybe head down to the Apple store, shop generally, maybe a movie over at the Bloomingdale's Mall (or whatever it's officially called), and dinner tonight is at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. That'll require a cab ride (once my car gets parked, it stays parked until I leave).

AI

Well, David Cook made it through, which is good, because I think he's got the most edge and talent. I could definitely get along with he and Syesha in the final, but it'll probably be Archuleta and one of the other two. David A. has a great voice and all, but he seems to have only one game, and I really dislike the phony coy humility. I'm much more a solemn nod kinda guy, like Cook gives off.

My main reason for blogging this, however, was that one of my two favorites across all the series is Bo Bice, and he turned in a pretty good guest performance last night. Played electric guitar, too. My other favorite was Daughtry.

Here's an example of why I dig Bice, from very early on in season 4, Whipping Post:

Can Cosmic Carlos Save Us?

How to begin?

Mi Latina, Beatrice, loves Cinco de Mayo. It's rooted in family and memories -- nothing else. She shopped (we have Patron, for tomorrow; entertaining, again). On the heals of a great dinner last night in the Oakland hills, in a house rebuilt after the fire (the only thing left was the big iron thingy of a piano on which strings are mounted), and a fabulous brunch this morning for eight close friends, she's got Carlos Santana permeating the loft on the stereo, whilst I'm sitting up here YouTubing and such.

Here was my first hit, and it's good enough.

The question is tongue in cheek, of course, but then there's the political overtones. Barack and Michelle Obama can go fuck right off. Get Carlos together with any number of white guys, black guys, and "homies," and you'll get some harmony. Here's what I've always thought: Carlos is the only guy in the world with the legitimate right to use that "people of color" smear ('cause it wouldn't be about genes). He can rock it (or groove it, funk it, rhythm it, soul it...) any way you want it.

Later: Groovin' with a white guy.

More Later: He can groove with a white guy in a cowboy hat.

Finally Later: He rocks and rhythms everyone.

Can't Stop Later: Uh, Blues. Don't dare miss it. It's a one-off.

Best For Last Later? You judge, but Santana and Clapton jammin' on Jingo together? Damn.

Let's Get a Move On

The fun begins.

In minutes, we make our way to dinner at a friend's house (significant other of one of my favorite relatives -- "Big George") in the Oakland Hills above Berkeley. The view will be spectacular.

I've shopped...this afternoon, and tomorrow at 10 a.m. we'll have Sunday Brunch for about 8 of our dearest neighbors in the 350 N. 2nd Lofts. Frittatas shall prevail; along with fried potatoes, a fruit salad of berries and melons, pork breakfast sausages, and a green salad.

We'll get buzzed beforehand on mimosas.

Oh, what the hell...

Talking dogs.

Simon Says

Guess who wins.

Punctuation Bleg

I was fortunate to learn very early on (maybe first year HS or even before) the rule that but for a single exception, all punctuation always goes inside quotation marks -- that sole exception being a question mark, when the sentence as a whole is a question but the quoted material is not, in itself.

I see this -- "This is an example". -- all the time and it drives me crazy. Please, people.

To Fly

One of the things that's been on my mind lately is getting back into hang-gliding in earnest. For the last few years it's basically been a single outing during our annual family camping trip to Hat Creek Rim. That's real easy flying, compared with the highly physical activity. It was getting increasingly difficult to do and enjoy, but I have twice the strength now.

Here's a few items that serve to wet the appetite.

One guy with one Indy film under his belt is trying to do a full length film.  The in-air footage is fantastic. Here's the direct link to watch in Quicktime. He's looking for help in promoting, so if you like it, he'd like a comment on the YouTube version which is a bit longer with less than stellar actors and dialog.

Here's a real artsy short someone put together. Nice.

Speaking of Hat Creek, here's how it looks basically from our view. Notice how low the sun is in the sky. We typicaly launch after 6:30 p.m., when the air is glass and going up everywhere. Second thing: notice on the landing, the severe wind gradient from about 25 ft to ground effect. Nasty. It's almost always like that. A real down-tube eater.

Here are a couple of my own HG videos: Hat Creek Rim (WillsWing Eagle) and Ed Levin Park (ATOS rigid wing).

And yea, Billy, I do intend also to get out to the airport and finish up there as well. Onward.

How to Kill Your Chances of Being a Superstar

You sing Jesus Christ Superstar as an American Idol contestant.

The Broadway show and subsequent productions were condemned by some religious groups. Tim Rice was quoted as saying "The idea of the whole opera is to have Christ seen through the eyes of Judas, and Christ as a man, not as a God." Some Christians considered this, as well as the omission of the resurrection, to be sacrilegious. They also found the character of Judas too sympathetic and some of his criticisms of Jesus offensive.

When they said Carly Smithson was going to do that song during the Andrew Lloyd Webber show this week, I immediately asked myself what in the hell she was thinking, and could possibly nobody alert her to the fact that a very large part of the country will never vote for her if she sings that?

See, I very keenly remember the apocalyptic, sings-of-the-end-times outrage at the time the album, opera, and film were released in the early 70s, and my family wasn't even yet part of the Christian fundamentalist movement, but simply evangelical -- i.e., fundamentalism lite.

When the vote was revealed last night I wasn't the least bit surprised, even though she is at least in the top three of talent this season. I kept waiting for someone to say the obvious. I'm still waiting, so I guess it fell to me.

Ouch!

In both the laptop and desktop showdowns, Apple’s computers were the winners. Oddly, the big difference didn’t come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine. Our respondents liked the look and feel of both operating systems but had a slight preference toward OS X. In our speed trials, however, Leopard OS trounced Vista in all-important tasks such as boot-up, shutdown and program-launch times. We even tested Vista on the Macs using Apple’s platform-switching Boot Camp software—and found that both Apple computers ran Vista faster than our PCs did. (emphasis added)

Poor Bill. ...Cuz, y'know, if you need a fast machine to run Vista, you'll need to get a Mac; and if you get a Mac, then ya might as well run the Mac OS.

The Weekend in Photos

Best weather of the year thus far. In the low 80s up here in the mountains. Here's a shot down in Murphys.

Motorcycles out in force, all over the place.

I cooked breakfast this morning. A 10-egg frittata for five with bacon, onion, green bell pepper, Italian seasonings, garlic, pepper jack cheese, fresh tomatoes and a bit of Parmesan cheese and dried basil. Garnish was a dollop of sour cream and fresh avocado slices. Also in attendance: fresh watermelon.

Fresh out of the oven:

Ready to eat:

Sorry to do this to you...(but)

I actually got this from CK in email this morning, thought it was a riot, but had no intention to blog it. But then I proceeded to have the thing bouncing around in my head all day, cracking myself up each time I get to the "Ken Lee" part.

So, here you go. Try to read and integrate the subtitles. For some odd reason, that makes it even more hilarious.

Squirrel Blood

Well, she finally got one in her clutches.

Those are battle stains, folks. Every morning we walk up this greenbelt to the west of the freeway and back. There are usually a number of squirrels, but also a lot of trees. She is lightening quick and is usually almost on them before they scurry up trees. Well, today one messed up. The springtime grass is tall, so rather than chasing it into the grass she stopped and listened. When it fell off the trunk of the tree she was into the grass in a two foot high, three foot horizontal bound. Right on top of it. It got clear, onto the next tree but by this time must have been too scarred to get a good grip. Fell of that tree, then another, and Nuke was on it again. Then there was some darting back & forth, a little contact here and there, but as soon as it began running across the street in a straight line she was on it in an instant, and out in the clear.

She ultimately couldn't hold it and it got away, so I have no idea the extent of the injury to the squirrel (first you learn to catch, then to kill). She gave pursuit immediately, but It finally made it successfully up a tree. She had a bit of a small cut on her snout, either from a bite or a claw, but it's hard to even see, now.

Good girl, Nuke. She has many talents.

Twitter

What can I say about it?

After an initial 30-second look, whenever, I kept seeing reference to it, and so I looked more deeply last week, I think. Sat through the demo and everything. I do not get it. Not in the least. Not in the slightest.

Now, I can think of a couple of people who aren't close family members where I might be interested to see what they may be up to at any given moment, presuming they took the time to log it, but it seems to me like a lot of effort to go to for something that's so fleeting and superficial ("OK, but that was 5 minutes ago; what are you doing now?"). I suppose it's precisely what makes me so interested in blogs that concurrently makes me so profoundly uninterested in Twitter. If you're interesting -- eclectic and eccentric, even a kook, is better -- then I am interested to know what's going on with you. But I want the highlights. The most interesting stuff. The stuff you put some effort into, or what others put effort into riling you up about.

Get it?

On the other hand, of my current reading stack, Jump Point by Tom Hayes is getting the most attention at the moment. He's dialed in and the conclusion I'm coming to is that the Internet is eventually -- if not already -- going to be something akin to Kowloon and Hong Kong to some large exponential power. What I'm referring to is the unplanned, organic nature of a city where there's a density that creates its own dynamics. It's a very interesting book.

Charlton Heston, RIP

Well it was quite a ride.

Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments rank, I think, as some of the best work ever laid down on celluloid and I doubt anyone would think that were it not for Heston.

If you imagine the biblical character Moses, whose face will you always see?

What I Did This Afternoon

Mounted a pot rack in the loft. Got it from Crate & Barrel.

Just Get Even

Here's the relevant material and you'll have to check out at least the first three comments.

Oops: Right here.

Later: I changed the title. It was originally "And whereas, the April Fooler gets April Fooled." Also, if after reviewing all things relevant you think it's a good turn of the table, then give me an up nod over at Seth Godin's April Fools 2008 Squidoo.

It Works

My mail began arriving at Earth Class Mail, today.

Here's how it works. As new mail arrives, it goes through a machine that scans front & back of the envelope. It can read the address, so knows to which account to upload the images (I can view the back of each envelope as well). You should normally be able to tell if it's something you wish to open and simply mark it to be scanned and/or shipped to you. If not, you can have them trash (recycle, of course) or shred. I just marked those three to be scanned and they promise to have it done by tomorrow morning.

Then I'll deal with it, delete the scanned images, and I'm done. Paperless. No stacks of mail, and I can deal with everything anywhere in the world. I hear they're working on being able to deposit checks you receive in the mail for you. That'll be nice if they can swing it.

The only trouble, so far, is that it's a bit arduous to get started. The USPS requires that you fill out a form appointing them as your agent, and to add insult, you must have it notarized. As if I'm not competent to manage my own affairs. I don't need the USPS's protection. I'll take my own chances.

Searchme

Absolutely. Check out the video intro.

(via: Greg)

"I'm almost smug"

Last phrase of the article, and it rang a bell. See, Billy? Only "almost." {with a laf}

(my own Time Machine / Time Capsule post)

I'm Interested

I've had the luxury of a company for some years where I have employees at my disposal to essentially take care of anything and everything having to do with the company. But I've never felt comfortable using them to handle personal affairs, for a number of reasons.

Now this: personal outsourcing. I think it's a great idea and for what it's worth, I have never bought into the negative hype about customer service out of India, the Philippines, or elsewhere where "them forners" reside. The other day I called one of my mortgage companies to change a mailing address and got on the line with a nice lady in Manila who was nothing but meticulously polite and professional. Yesterday, I switched out my wireless router up here at the cabin from a Linksys to an Apple AirPort Extreme, and realized I had forgotten the PPPoE password and didn't have it written down. Within a minute or so I was on line with one of AT&T's tech service reps in India who was, again, meticulously polite and professional. This has been my general experience for some years, and I always ask if they're overseas. My suggestion to companies: have your support people be up-front about it, rather than carry on implication that you're trying to hide it. From my own substantial experience in this area, if you make sure your customers know they're dealing with someone in India or Croatia, or the P.I., or wherever, your customers will soon express a preference for foreigners because those foreigners -- again, in my experience -- are a cut above in terms of professionalism.

(via: Tim Ferris)

Effortless Backups

Backing up becomes a breeze. I can vouch for that, and it does so wirelessly, for two separate MacBook Pros on the same Time Capsule.

So, backing up is a cinch, but how about restoring? Those of you who've ever had the experience realize that if getting stuff -- the right stuff -- backed up properly isn't always a cinch, restoring can be even worse. Which file? If it's the data or settings/preferences for an application, even if you've identified the right files to back up in the first place, how do you know for sure which incremental backup to restore?

I'm happy to report that even this is quite simple and functional in the Time Machine - Time Capsule environment. First, it backs up your entire system anyway, by default, so you don't have to wonder about identifying particular data files and making sure you get everything you might need. It manages the space on the drive automatically by deleting older backups as space is needed for new ones. Still, I've been backing up for a month, now, and the half-terabyte drive isn't yet half full, and that's with two complete systems.

But here's what's cool. In the process of moving from using Entourage as an email, contacts, calendar application that syncs with Exchange Server at the office, to Mac Mail, Address Book, and iCal, I ended up getting some of my contacts chewed up and deleted. In conventional restoration of a backup, I would need to identify the location and file that holds the address book data, then find the backups of those files, then try each one going back until I reach a state where all my contacts are present. However, with Time Machine - Time Capsule, I simply open the Address Book app, then hit the Time MAchine button. Then I simply click back in time, with the app itself open, until I get to where my missing contacts show up. Click restore and you're done. Alternatively, you can simply select individual contacts and restore those rather than the entire file. I presume it would work similarly for the calendar. Rather than moving back to a complete past data file, you can simply restore one or more appointments or events within the app itself. So, what I wonder is how widespread is this functionality. Could one, for example, use it to restore single emails that might have been deleted that, though they may be in your deleted items folder, it's quicker and easier to view past states of your inbox until you get to the particular email, and just restoring that single one.

I'm sure I'll find out, in time.

Frat Boy Blues

This is pretty funny.

We did some pretty infantile stuff in college, but I never had even the slightest desire to associate with any fraternity house. I did once get invited and go to one of their parties (kegger -- what else?) and it was perhaps the shallowest spectacle I've ever witnessed in my life -- on the part of both the "brothers" and the sorority "sisters" from various places down the street.

Actually, it all reminds me a lot of when I happen to surf into a NatGeo episode on the TV anthropologically dissecting some form of bizarre primitive tribal ritual or something. Seriously.

My dorm mate and I eventually moved out and rented an apartment together during our senior year, and it happened to be just across the street from one of the very popular frat houses at Oregon State (PKE, I think). It only ever solidified my disdain.

To this very day, if someone tells me they were a brother or sister in this or that fraternity or sorority, then they start off with a bad first impression with me. I'm willing to overcome it, but it rarely ever happens (Radley Balko being a notable exception). There's just something about it, and it seems to be fairly general. I'd say it has a lot to do with a sense of individuality, and I loath people who don't have a sense of individuality. Wait: hate and loath.

Later: Well, Jesus, that was quick. Balko has taken down the entry. No idea why and I don't recall him ever taking anything down before. Maybe a glitch? Anyway, here was the text (If asks me to take it down, I will.)

To the Person Who Keeps Editing My Wikipedia Page:

You know who you are. I know who you are. Stop adding the frat to my “education” section.

Seriously, man. It’s not that I’m ashamed of having joined our fraternity. It’s not that I’m ashamed of the particular fraternity I joined. It’s that, well, I’m 33-years-old. It’s just not a milestone event in my life anymore, ya’ know?

You are also now in your 30s. Most people let go of the frat by about their senior year in college. Don’t you have better things to do than to surf the Internet to make sure people are paying proper respect to “the brotherhood?”

Seriously, man. Put the beer funnel down, and step away from the computer. I’m sure rush will go just fine next year whether or not Radley Balko has “Theta Chi” on his Wikipedia page.

Rock Chicks

Stay with me. Though not long in words, it's long in attention.

I'm just not up to blogging anything "substantive" just now (the looming disaster called an "election" will keep), so let me toss up something I'd had on my mind -- music wise. ...I like girl rockers who can really deliver power vocals. You know: like a Grace Slick, or even Joplin (in micro doses). And of course, who else could be my touchstone for this sort of thing but the sweet Ann Wilson (that's perhaps the best link of the post, so if you don't stick for the four minutes into the 8:24m track it takes to Rock, you'll miss out).

But let's go back about 12 years or so. Her name is Tracy Bonham, and -- frankly -- I have not much of an idea of her work in total; just one song. I was doing something in my apartment and this performance, Mother Mother, came on the TV with her doing it live, in a short skirt (oh, yea!) playing electric violin. I was jaw-dropped blown away and I never, ever forgot it. Then, a few months ago, my friend Karen blogged about Blue Man Group and I revisited the whole thing.

I've had this in my favs for some months, mildly itching to blog about it, but feel totally free to click back once you get the idea. Only; I couldn't work myself up to it. You know, in the industry, it's a "production value." To me? It was just so far away from the performance I saw. I just couldn't show you that, as any sort of representation of my honest take on it. Well, at long last, here's a very close approximation (you'll really want to watch the whole thing). That, live, making the real thing, is just a jewel and I love it. Take particular note at 2:18. She is convincing, doing that.

MysteryWeb

Zazingo. What is it? What will it do? Who benefits, and how? What does it cost?

You'll find out; and soon, I hope.